16 December (2002)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Mani Shankar

Writers:

Mani Shankar (dialogue)
Mani Shankar (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 March 2002 (India)

Genre:

Short | Action | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

White collar crimes that drain the nation of precious foreign exchange is connected to the funding of international terrorism. The much-told Hollywood theme is retold in the Indian context with much needed technical wizadry.

Plot Keywords:

Pakistan | Terrorism | Nuclear Threat | Spy | Date In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Danny Denzongpa	...	Vir Vijay Singh
Gulshan Grover	...	Dost Khan
Milind Soman	...	Vikram
Dipannita Sharma	...	Sheeba
Sushant Singh	...	Victor (as Sushant)
Aditi Govitrikar	...	Sonal Joshi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Deepinka

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

This is how patriotism should be

I didn't have very high expectations from the film. But the very first scene got me a little curious watching an Indian officer using the computer to file some sort of a report. Our films always depict the Indian law enforcing agencies as primeval in their thinking, capability and resources. This film shatters all three myths. The film itself seems to be the main protagonist rather than any particular character. The story is very very interesting, especially the whole havala transaction. Danny and Gulshan Grover give good performances as do Milind Soman and Sushant Singh. I found debutante Dipannita Sharma to be a revelation for being in the thick of things rath er than just being thick in the head as most Hindi film heroines are. The 'Dil Mera Ek Tara' track is superb and nicely integrated into the film. The only drawback I can think of is the whole Aditi Govitrikar angle to the plot. That should have either not been there or at least rewritten. But Mani Shankar presents the real ideal patriotism: practical and intelligent. A well-deserved 9/10.